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Mehrunisa V Lub U and Yalghaar open to decent figures

By Buraq Shabbir
Fri, 06, 17

This Eid ul Fitr saw the release of two local films, Mehrunisa V Lub U and Yalghaar and despite some criticism, it looks like both films have been victorious on the box office. Part of the reason is that no Bollywood film was released during this period including the Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight that released worldwide on Eid, but has yet to arrive in Pakistan.

 BoxOffice

According to Box Office Detail, both films attracted huge crowds in cinemas during the festive Eid season.

This Eid ul Fitr saw the release of two local films, Mehrunisa V Lub U and Yalghaar and despite some criticism, it looks like both films have been victorious on the box office. Part of the reason is that no Bollywood film was released during this period including the Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight that released worldwide on Eid, but has yet to arrive in Pakistan.

While Tubelight’s absence certainly disappointed Salman Khan fans on this side of the border, it turned out to be a blessing for local films as they were screened to packed audiences nationwide.

“A lot of people came to watch these films due to Eid holidays,” Ali Zain from Box Office Detail told Instep. “The footfall has been really well so far. Mehrunisa V Lub U is doing better in Karachi while Yalghaar has made more money in Punjab. However it remains to be seen if this continues after Eid.”

Mehrunisa V Lub U raked in rupees 1.1 crores on its first day and rupees 1.75 crores on day two while Yalghaar remained on top by collecting rupees 1.75 crores on the first day, followed by rupees 2.4 crores the next day.

Yasir Nawaz’s romantic drama Mehrunisa V Lub U, starring Danish Taimoor and Sana Javed in lead roles, highlights society’s evils and how it scrutinizes a couple who is unable to bear a child. The film’s promotions were in full swing during the last week of Ramazan and even after release. However, according to Zain, there was no buzz around the film prior to its release but because of Eid holidays it received decent numbers on box office.

On the other hand, Hassan Waqas Rana’s war saga Yalghaar is touted as the most expensive film to come out of Pakistani cinema so far. With an all-star cast including Shaan Shahid and Humayun Saeed as protagonist and antagonist respectively as well as actors Adnan Siddiqui, Bilal Ashraf, Gohar Rasheed, Armeena Khan, Ayesha Omar and Sana Bucha (in her debut role), the film has released in 22 countries.

“Despite an all-star cast, there was no buzz for Yalghaar either as the team couldn’t capitalize on this with heavy promotions,” Zain shared. “Shaan’s absence from the entire promotional tour also affected the film’s buzz before its release. Also, the trailer was so bad that nobody was excited for the film.”

Mehrunisa V Lub U and Yalghaar got a good start at the box office because of Eid holidays and the fact that Tubelight wasn’t released here. Viewers didn’t have many options to choose from which is why a considerable mass of audience went to watch these films. While box office numbers for the third day of Eid are yet to be disclosed, the footfall after Eid will actually determine the success of the films.

According to Ali Zain, “The numbers after Eid will decide which film does well at the box office and has the power to run longer in cinemas.”

However, he is of the view that Mehrunisa V Lub U will earn more money as the audience likes to watch these kinds of films, something that was observed when Wrong No. was released.

It is great for local cinema that people are actually going to cinemas to watch Pakistani films that were not considered an option once upon a time. We hope the numbers will continue to grow after Eid as we are headed towards the weekend.